17 comments

NC's comments are informative - most posters on here have singled out centre back as an area to reinforce and the expectation - and certainly mine - was that one of the rumoured loan signings would indeed be a centre back, yet NC says he'll not go into the loan market "for one game" (Hull tonight) and so his focus must be elsewhere...
I guess his thinking must be that we have O'Connor, O'Brien and Bucko with Gjokay as standby or Brayford moving across and Freeman filling in at right back. And for next season and beyond Barks will be back.
So, I guess he must be looking at left back and midfield and perhaps centre forward...?
I'm intrigued.
Anyway, here's hoping Gjokay plays a blinder this evening or the more likely scenario of a square peg in a round hole that is Brayford at centre half pays off!

Whilst I trully hope Barks makes a full recovery - you have say it's unlikely he'll be back at the same high standard next season having had such a long lay-off.
So imo if we're serious about pushing on for promotion, given the amount of goals we've shipped this season, we really need to land an experienced top quality CB & soon

I think the reality is we will not get a new CB in unless it's official that Barker cannot play next season. With him still on the wage bill there is no financial room unless others go out.
With that in mind I too would grant Gjokaj his debut if O'Brien and Buxton are doubts. No point player someone who has a very real chance of breaking down during the match and thus lengthening his absense from the team.

If the club/manager are prepared to 'right off' some games in their own minds and this does happen within clubs, then all the more reason not to move Brayford and try someone new...lessons, one way or another will be learnt and I feel our defensive frailties in the air, especially away from home, will be no more exposed than they have been with Buxton/O'Brien/O'Conner alongside Keogh, surely this is all part of developing a young side? Be brave Nigel.....

I agree with all the comments made here.
Brayford is our best attacking outlet and we lose so much going forward when that is nullified.
Saying that, it does give Freeman another chance to play. Would I be right in saying that this would be the first time Freeman is chosen to play in his natural position?
It would seem much more logical and ambitious to let Brayford do what he does week in week out, attack down the right.

My biggest concern with Clough has always been how quick he is to resort to putting square pegs into round holes - it very rarely works and to say for example that Brayford has played in the middle before doesn't mean he did it successfully or without sacrificing another aspect of the team pattern.
Bringing Freeman in at right back to enable Brayford to be accomodated in a central defensive role will seriously weaken our attacking options by losing the Coutts / Brayford partnership. I've nothing at all against Freeman (far too early to say whether he's up to Championship standard yet) and if he came in because of injury to our usual fullback then I'd be happy to go along with it but this isn't the case. If he goes ahead with the switch, Clough in effect seems to be saying that, at the moment, Freeman is a better right back than Gjokoj is a central defender.